c. 1997 Religion News Service

UNDATED _ Here are some comparisons of traditional Jewish blessings and those offered by poet Marcia Falk in her”Book of Blessings”:

THE TRADITIONAL BLESSING UPON AWAKENING

I am grateful to You, living, enduring King, for restoring my soul to me in compassion. You are faithful beyond measure.

FROM THE BOOK OF BLESSINGS

The breath of my life

will bless,

the cells of my being

sing

in gratitude

reawakening.

THE TRADITIONAL OPENING OF THE SH’MA

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.

FROM THE BOOK OF BLESSINGS

Hear, O Israel _

The divine abounds everywhere

and dwells in everything;

the many are One.

TRADITIONAL PRAYER UPON THE WASHING THE HANDS:

Praised are You, Lord our God, King of the universe whose

mitzvot (commandments) add holiness to our life and who

give us the mitzvah to wash the hands ritually.

FROM THE BOOK OF BLESSINGS

Washing the hands, we call to mind

the holiness of body.

Traditional prayers from”Siddur Sim Shalon: A Prayerbook for Shabbat, Festivals, and Weekdays,”c. The Rabbinical Assembly, The United Synagogue of America, New York, 1985.

MJP END LIEBLICH